


I Wanna Know Who

by Actual_Dunwich_Horror



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not Hockey Players, Alternate title: Nate uses nice clothes and ice cream to woo two hot boys, But it All Works Out!, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Lack of Communication, M/M, Modern Royalty, Sidney Crosby is mentioned once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-16 09:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19314991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actual_Dunwich_Horror/pseuds/Actual_Dunwich_Horror
Summary: Nate has two letters delivered to him. Both are essentially the same- “Prince Nathan, I’m very humbled to have been given a chance to earn your hand in marriage, I can’t wait to stay at your home and get to know you, blah blah blah”, except. Each letter is from someone different, but they were both dated to arrive on the same day.One is signed, “Sincerely, Lord Tyson Barrie”. The other, “Yours truly, Lord Gabriel Landeskog”.





	I Wanna Know Who

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Catznetsov](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catznetsov/gifts).



> No harm is intended by this fic, I don't equate these fictional characters to their real life counterparts, etc.
> 
> So excited to participate in the poly fic exchange!!! I saw the prompt relating to the prince being betrothed to too many people and rolled with it. So, here we are! It was slightly rushed as I became a bit pressed for time, but I got it done! I had a blast writing it and I really hope Catznetsov likes it! Enjoy!

Nate wakes up to the sound of arguing.

He knows what it’s about, of course. His parents haven’t been able to keep quiet about it. That’s what happens when you’re an unmarried prince.

Most nobility or royalty typically got married at a young age. Yet here is Nate, twenty-three years old, and not even really thinking about marriage. It’s just not important to him. What  _ is  _ important is staying in shape, keeping in touch with some of his old friends, not going along with some dumb idea that causes him to pop up in the news. And sure, he’s a little rebellious. So what if he doesn’t want to get married yet? Everyone else gets to choose who and when, so why shouldn’t Nate?

Being a prince sucks ass sometimes.

So, his parents arguing about suitors doesn’t really phase him anymore. It’s an old argument, one that he loses every time, but he doesn’t care. There won’t be a reason for him to take over the throne soon. At least, no reason he wants to consider.

Dragging himself out of bed, Nate gets up and ready for the day, blindly pulling on the clothes that had been laid out for him this morning, and stumbles his way through the grandiose hallways of the MacKinnon royal home to make his way to the dining room where he knows breakfast will be waiting for him.

He sits down with a sigh, pouring himself a cup of coffee and digging into his food, drowning out the sounds of his parents arguing next to him. He didn’t get what the big deal was. All the possible suitors were exactly the same.

When Nate came out to his parents as bi, at first, it was an outrage. They argued that he broke tradition too much and that this was much further than usual, and that he could hurt their family name  _ forever _ . That is… until his dad began to see it as another chance to find more suitors.

So instead of being bombarded with lists and lists of beautiful but dreadfully bland young noble women, Nate was bombarded with lists and lists of beautiful but dreadfully bland noble women AND men. Whenever Nate got to meet them, he felt a little bad. Because, sure, they were incredibly sweet and good looking, it’s just… they were all so  _ trained _ . They were too stiff and formal no matter how much Nate tried to get to know them, and it just was not what Nate wanted out of a relationship. He didn’t want his marriage to revolve around making him and his family richer or more attractive to the public eye. He wanted to genuinely fall in love with someone, and he wanted someone to fall for him for reasons other than him being the prince of Nova Scotia.

But of course, that didn’t matter. Not to his parents, anyway.

Nate snaps out of his thoughts to the sound of his name being spoken by his mother. He quickly sits up and tries to look a bit more… alive.

“Nate, dear, are you doing alright? You look a bit pale.” She says.

“I’m good. Just need to get out of the house, you know. Wanna spend some time with Sid before he heads off to Pittsburgh,” he replies, taking a sip of his coffee. That whole thing was definitely a lie, considering the fact that Sid rarely even speaks to Nate anymore, but. Still.

“I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just married Sidney. He’s a hotshot athlete with a lot of money. The Crosbys aren’t nobles, but Sid… he sure is something,” Nate’s father pipes up.

Nate internally rolls his eyes and his mother tenses, staring at her plate. This whole thing is a conversation they’ve had way too many times.

“For the last time, dad, Sid’s not interested in anyone. He’s too focused on hockey, like, all the time. I can’t blame him for that.”

“A shame, really,” the king replies with a snort. “He’d make more money as your husband than he would playing hockey.”

Nate wordlessly shifts his focus back to his breakfast. Of course his father wouldn’t understand what it was like to have a life outside of politics and money. Even as a teen, that’s all he focused on. Nate always made sure he was different, wanting a life outside of learning to run the kingdom.

“Nate, we found some possible suitors that you would possibly be interested in?” the queen says, sliding him the fancy letters containing photos and personal information.

Nate glances over them all, six letters in total, three men and three women. The ladies are pretty much the same, blonde with lots of money, showing off a lot of skin in their photos, although one of them apparently has an art degree which stands out to Nate a bit. One of the lords is like all the past ones Nate has seen- sharp jawed and in a suit, interested in business. 

The other two, though, are some of the more handsome, unique men that Nate’s seen come up as possible suitors. One is a fellow Canadian with unruly, curly hair and a full-faced smile that’s brighter than the sun itself, who happens to be interested in sports management. Something flickers inside of Nate at that, considering how much he loves hockey but could never pursue it as a career. The other is a Swede (which isn’t too shocking to Nate, his parents seem to have a thing for Swedes) who is drop dead gorgeous, his suit clinging to him deliciously, and just happens to be in the modeling industry. Nate honestly isn’t surprised, considering his blonde hair and chiseled jaw.

He slides those two letters to his mother, not meeting her eyes. “These two,” Nate mumbles. His mother picks up his choices and hums approvingly.

“Which two did he choose?” his father asks, mouth full of food.

“Lords Tyson Barrie and Gabriel Landeskog,” the queen says flatly, not looking at her husband. “The two we’ve been arguing over.”

Nate wants to slump onto the table and never get up. Of course he had to choose the two his parents argued about.

“What’s there to argue about?” Nate asks instead, resting his chin in his hand, trying to seem casual.

“Well, you see, I’d prefer you to get married to that Tyson kid.” Says the king. “His family is almost as wealthy as the B.C. royal family, and they definitely could help our kingdom financially. Plus, his father, Len, is an old friend of mine. It-”

“Is a biased decision.” The Queen cuts in. “As for me, I think marrying Gabriel would be a better decision because of the reputation of the Landeskog family. Gabriel is the only one of the three Landeskog children who hasn’t married, and from what I can tell, he’s the most charming. He’s good at talking to people, and he makes himself likeable in front of a camera. Which, I believe, is something we as a family need right about now.”

_ Or maybe you just need someone pretty to cover up your son’s mistakes, _ Nate thinks dryly.

Instead of responding to his parents’ expectant looks, Nate sighs and stands, leaving to head back up to his room. He hears his mother yell for him to think about it, and closes the dining room door, slumping against it.

He really does  _ not  _ want to think about it.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

A few days later, the queen pulls Nate aside and tells him that they have come to a conclusion on who they were inviting to the royal home.

Later that same day, the king does the same. Nate doesn’t question it.

That is, until Nate has two letters delivered to him. Both are essentially the same- _ “Prince Nathan, I’m very humbled to have been given a chance to earn your hand in marriage, I can’t wait to stay at your home and get to know you, blah blah blah”, _ except. Each letter is from someone different, but they were both dated to arrive on the same day.

One is signed, “ _ Sincerely, Lord Tyson Barrie _ ”. The other, “ _ Yours truly, Lord Gabriel Landeskog _ ”.

Not once had they allowed multiple possible suitors to stay with them, so needless to say… Nate is a bit confused.

But, again, Nate doesn’t question it. His dad probably thinks it would be fun to see them fight for his son’s hand or something like that. That’s the best reason Nate can come up with for… whatever will be happening.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Turns out, that was very much not the case.

The day that Lords Barrie and Landeskog arrive to the MacKinnon home is a hectic one.

They arrive at the same time and are led to the ‘throne room’, and needless to say, the king and queen are in shock at the sight of them. They almost immediately excuse themselves to talk privately, but not before they practically shove Nate at the two men, trying to uphold at least a bit of their family reputation.

At first, Nate can’t help but stare at the two men in front of him. Lord Landeskog is dressed in a suit that’s almost  _ too  _ formal, and Lord Barrie’s tie is crooked. Nate can’t help but be charmed by the both of them for completely different reasons.

He stands and reaches out to shake their hands, trying to seem at least a little prince-like.

“Pleasure to finally meet the both of you.”

“Likewise.” Lord Landeskog responds.

“Pretty cool finally meeting a prince,” Lord Barrie says with a crooked smile, “But uh, I got a question.”

Nate watches as Lord Barrie’s eyes flicker dramatically to Lord Landeskog, who just raises an eyebrow at him in response.

Awesome. So they didn’t have a clue this was happening either.

Nate scrubs a hand over his face. “Yeah, I have no idea why there’s two suitors here at the same time either. I’m guessing that’s why my parents were so eager to leave? Sounds like someone fucked up somewhere.”

The two lords stare at Nate, surprised expressions on their faces. And, right. Not everyone’s used to the fact that Prince MacKinnon swears a shit ton and can’t speak professionally to save his life. In general, he can’t stand the stiffness of being part of the royal family, and it’s shocking to others.

“Well, uh… We can chill out back until they figure out what’s wrong, if you guys want. I can have some drinks brought to us.” Nate suggests, a bit awkwardly. His parents  _ really  _ should not have left him alone for his first meeting with his suitors.

“I’m down,” Lord Barrie says with a smile on his face.

Lord Landeskog shrugs, looking a bit less stiff. “Couldn’t hurt.”

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

“So, Prince Nathan, what do you like to do for fun around here?” Lord Barrie asks, taking in the view of the magnificent backyard of the royal home as he sips on a milkshake.

Nate smiles and shakes his head, setting down his gatorade. “Just call me Nate. You don’t have to be super formal around me. I’m human too, you know.”

The two lords practically freeze up again and glance at each other. Nate huffs through his nose and continues, deciding to ignore that.

“To answer your question though, going to the docks and stuff can be pretty cool or chilling at the beach. I got a group of buddies I play hockey with from time to time, so that’s always fun. Not gonna lie though, I’m really kinda boring,” he says with a chuckle. “My favorite thing to do is just… hanging out with my dogs, I guess.”

Lord Landeskog shakes his head in disagreement. “You’re not boring. You could be like most other princes nowadays and be completely submerged in politics, but you’re not. You’re quite the unique guy, Nate.” He offers Nate a warm smile, and holy shit this guy might just be  _ too  _ handsome for Nate. He feels his cheeks grow warm at the compliment.

He goes to change the subject, but not before he’s suddenly called into a conference room with his parents.

When he arrives, both the king and queen are red in the face, and their royal advisors don’t look too happy either. Nate pauses before taking a seat.

“Uh… did I do something wrong?” He asks skittishly.

“No. Sit down and we’ll explain the situation.” His mother says rather harshly. Nate obeys without batting an eye. He knows better than to argue when his mother looks this furious.

“Your father and I had a long discussion about who we would be bringing into our home, and I THOUGHT we had come to a conclusion,” she says, shooting a glare at her husband. “But, no. It turns out we had a bit of a miscommunication, and our respective advisors failed to communicate as well, which is why there are two suitors here instead of one.”

Nate stays silent, trying to process the situation. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse.

“Now, to keep up appearance, we’re going to stay quiet about what went wrong.” The king adds. “We’ll explain everything to the young lords, but none of this is allowed to get out to the public. We can’t give the press another reason to criticize us.”   


Nate just nods and sighs.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

So it’s decided that the suitors will stay in the royal home. They will both spend time with Nate, preferably alone, so that Nate can get to know them and make the decision for himself.

Nate isn’t a huge fan of the whole thing. He technically gets a chance to choose who he gets to marry, yet… it still doesn’t feel like he does. Sure, he’s happier than he usually is about having suitors there, but… something still feels off.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

He firstly spends a considerable amount of time with Lord Landeskog, who insists on just being called Gabe.

(“Lord Landeskog sounds like a tongue twister, and Gabriel can be a bit of a mouthful. Just call me Gabe,” he said with a wink.)

Nate learns that Gabe loves shopping, which isn’t all that surprising to Nate. Most of the prettier, richer nobles tend to be into that sort of thing. Nate doesn’t mind, though.

He takes Gabe out window shopping a few times, which eventually evolves into exploring the cities, and Nate takes him to some of the finer restaurants for lunch. Though, despite being “preppy”, as Nate would say, Gabe seems genuinely enthusiastic to learn about the different parts of Nova Scotia, and particularly Halifax, where Nate is from. There’s nothing fake about his soft smile or the shine in his eyes as he listens to Nate talk.

It feels like a breath of fresh air, to have someone actually care.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Lord Barrie, though, is an entirely different experience.

He tries (and fails) to get Nate to call him some dumb nickname, but finally gives in and settles on being called by his first name.

(“Lord Barrie is too formal, and do I look formal? Absolutely not. I can’t even tie a tie.”)

Nate’s days with Tyson feel more loose, almost as if he were hanging out with one of his old friends. Tyson is loud and makes jokes, and he loves food. Nate originally thinks about taking him to the fancier places like he had with Gabe, but eventually settles on taking him to the best ice cream shops in the entire province.

It turns out to be perfect- apparently Tyson’s a HUGE fan of ice cream, and even though he makes a mess almost everywhere they go, his bright, sunny smile and warm eyes makes the whole thing so worth it to Nate.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Things are  good on Nate’s end. His relationships with Gabe and Tyson are going good, they’ve managed to (mostly) stay out of the news, and his parents are very pleased. Unlike the past, they haven’t done anything too embarrassing to get plastered all over the front page. So in Nate’s eyes, things actually worked themselves out pretty well.

But he doesn’t stop to think about how this whole thing could be affecting Gabe and Tyson, and it comes back to bite him in the ass.

Nate doesn’t realize anything is wrong until him and Tyson are sitting on the edge of a dock, and he mentions taking the three of them ice skating at the local rink. Tyson’s initial smile had immediately devolved into something more forced, and he became rather tense.

“Right. You, me, and Gabe. Skating.” Tyson had gritted out.

“Yeah! Because both of you guys said-” Nate ended up cutting himself off when realization kicked in. “Oh. Uh, well. It was… it was just a thought.”

Nate doesn’t realize the extent of it until he hears yelling coming from the hallway where the two lords are staying.

He can’t entirely make out what they’re saying, and he thinks that it’s probably best left that way. For now, at least.

Frustrated, Nate slinks off to his room on the other side of the house. Things were already somewhat awkward, and this was only going to make things a lot worse.

The whole thing is quite fitting, considering how the MacKinnon family seems to attract drama. It was as if the lords were proving that they would fit right in them.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The more Nate thinks about it, the more it hurts. He genuinely likes Gabe and Tyson, which is a bit of a first when it comes to suitors. His feelings for them have grown over the past couple of weeks, and it’s caused him to grow tired of catching the two of them arguing. 

They almost immediately stop whenever they see Nate, automatically creating some kind of excuse and then going their separate ways.

And, of course, Nate wants to know what the problem is. The two guys who he’s  _ actually interested in  _ seem to hate each other, and sure, Nate has a million guesses as to what’s wrong, but he knows it would be horrible to assume anything right out of the gate without solid evidence. Are they tired of Nate? Are they trying to outdo each other? Are they trying to find a way to get the royal family’s money without marrying Nate? Just about every illogical explanation under the sun seems like a possibility to Nate.

When Nate asks about it, neither of them tell him, claiming that he has bigger things he should worry about. Nate could technically order them to tell him what the problem is. But then again, Nate’s never really been one to use his authority for personal gain.

And so, he gets planning. He messages a few buddies, calls the local rink to get some private ice time scheduled, and makes sure that the two lords have all the proper gear they’ll need for a hockey game.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Nate has two separate cars pick up Gabe and Tyson at different times so that they don’t suspect a thing. It’s not until they get into the rink’s shitty locker room that they realize what Nate’s done.

Tyson’s halfway through taking his shirt off, fabric bunched around his shoulders, when Gabe strolls in. He freezes immediately, going speechless. Gabe goes to sit next to Nate with his typical bright smile, but his face suddenly goes dark. He sees Tyson sitting across the room, staring at him with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Nate?” Gabe grits out, not breaking eye contact with Tyson. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Nate silently thanks his friends for promising to ignore the three of them if anything got awkward. He owes them all a trip to the bar.

“It’s a great idea, really,” Nate says, shrugging on his chest protector. “Communication is key when you’re playing on a team. Felt like something you guys needed to work on.”

Gabe stays quiet, and after a moment, begins to strip down to get into his gear. Tyson continues to do the same.

Nate prays to the hockey gods that this little game doesn’t turn out to be a shitshow. His parents would have his head if it did. Literally.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Nate makes sure that he gets Tyson and Gabe onto his team. They don’t have enough players to do full lines, so they settle on 3-on-3 lines and no backup goalies.

So, they play.

Sitting on the bench, Nate thinks back to when he talked to each lord about playing hockey in their respective hometowns.

He remembers learning about how Tyson’s dad had gone pro and expected his son to do the same. The only problem was Tyson could understand the game better than he could play it, which he was personally fine with. He continued to play throughout his life, though, going through his junior years and then even through college. Despite his father’s wishes, playing hockey wasn’t Tyson’s whole life. It just gave him something to do until he could coach a team or become an agent.

As for Gabe, he was a hotshot player in Sweden. Everyone had guessed that he would go on to become some big NHL star, which Gabe wanted more than anything. That is, until he took an awkward hit that caused his knee to practically become useless. Afraid of worsening his injury, he ended up quitting hockey (aside from playing the occasional pick-up game) and decided to put his good looks to use. Whenever Nate walked with him, he noticed that Gabe had a slight limp.

Once the first group of guys had gone through their shift, Nate grabs Gabe and Tyson to be on his line. He was curious to see how Tyson does as a defenseman, but he was a little nervous about being able to connect passes with Gabe. As they skate to the faceoff circle, he sees Tyson and Gabe glare at each other, and sighs. This was going to be a long game.

And so, it goes just about how Nate expects it to at first. Their passes don’t really connect, Gabe’s shots go wide, and Tyson continually trips up on his chances to defend against the other team. 

At one point, Nate pulls the two off to the side of the bench. They’re both red in the face and breathing hard and generally frustrated with the whole thing, but Nate refuses to let them off easy.

“Look. I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but you gotta let loose. Give up the whole silent treatment thing you guys have going on, and try to have fun. That’s what this is about. And, like I said earlier, communication is key.” He says to them both, using his “prince voice”, as Tyson had called it.

And surprisingly enough, it works.

The three of them begin to work better, Gabe actually calls for passes, Tyson begins to defend the net easier. Pretty soon, Nate’s scoring, and the three of them crash into each other’s arms without a second thought. Nate grins at the two of them, and he watches as the lords’ gazes turn to each other.

Their forgiving smiles are a sight for sore eyes.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The three of them end up leaving the rink together, and the drive home is comfortably quiet. Nate doesn’t dare to break the silence. Things finally aren’t awkward between the three of them, and it’s relieving to Nate.

As soon as they arrive to the royal home, Nate says, “You guys should take my advice and talk things out. I think it’d be better for all of us, you know,” and leaves it at that.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“I just think it’s getting close to being time for you to make a decision,” the king says, not even looking up at his son.

“Don’t you think it’s a little… soon?” Nate argues. The two suitors have only been there for a month, and while that was the standard amount of time that suitors were allowed to stay at the home, this time was different. Nate hasn’t exactly devoted a month’s worth of time to Tyson and Gabe respectively.

He explains this to his parents, and while it takes a bit to convince them to let the lords stay any longer, they eventually settle on allowing them to stay for another month. After that, Nate will be forced to make a final decision.

_ This is going to be a lot harder than I thought, _ Nate thinks.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The next morning, Nate invites Gabe and Tyson to breakfast with him on the back porch. It’s warm outside, but not too hot, and the breeze balances out the hazy morning sun perfectly.

“So, I just wanted to check in with you both about… whatever’s going on.” Nate says casually as he spreads butter on his pancakes.

The two men stay quiet for a moment. Well, mostly quiet, as Tyson noisily sprays a big mound of whipped cream onto his pancakes.

“Things are good between us. I think.” Gabe says, sounding a little forced and uncharacteristically shy. “We just… Got a little jealous of each other.”

Nate pauses mid-bite, and sets his fork back down on his plate in disbelief. They were… jealous?

“Could you… uh. Maybe elaborate on that a little?” Nate asks, his voice soft. It felt almost impossible for anyone to actually be into him for anything other than his title, so he braces himself to hear something about how they would be jealous of anyone who has a possible chance to be with a prince.

“We’re both, like, super into you,” Tyson says, and Nate can’t help but notice the blush on his cheeks. “You’re super sweet, and super cute, and you took me out for ice cream which is like. Automatic sexy points.” He laughs, also a bit shy, and Nate can’t help but feel butterflies in his stomach at the sound.

“I second that. Well, except for the ice cream part. You’ve got a good sense of style, though. Not a lot of Canadians are like that,” Gabe adds, shooting a wink at Tyson, who just sputters at him. “But, yeah. I guess we got a bit competitive, and we didn’t want you to worry about it, so… we tried to hide it from you. Sorry that didn’t work out too well.”

Nate stays frozen, trying to comprehend everything. He actually had two people fight over him. Not because they wanted to marry the prince, but because they wanted to marry  _ Nate.  _ He’s extremely flattered by the whole thing, but at the same time, he’s heartbroken.

Over the past little while, Nate has fallen in love with Gabe and Tyson for totally separate reasons. He loves how Gabe is passionate and genuinely cares for others. He loves how Tyson is so carefree and isn’t afraid to be himself. Nate has so much in common with the both of them, and deep down he hoped that one of the two wouldn’t be as attracted to him. The thought of having to choose between the two of them made Nate sick to his stomach.

“It’s… it’s okay.” Nate says with a breathy sigh. “That’s just… unexpected, I guess. I thought it would’ve been about… I don’t know. Not that.” Nate can’t bear to look at either of them, afraid that he’ll say something stupid now that he knows that they both actually return his feelings.

Gabe scoots closer and rests a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “And… we want you to know that it’s okay if you don’t feel the same about either of us. We know the reason we’re here, and if neither of us are ‘the one’, then that’s okay.”

“No!” Nate says suddenly, causing the other two men to flinch in surprise. “Sorry, no, that’s. I’m very much into you both too, just… I have to make a decision soon. And it’s… It’s hard, you know.”

Nate slumps back into his chair and rubs his face, suddenly exhausted by the whole situation. He wishes he could just disappear into the Canadian wilderness and not have to deal with this ever again.

“Well,” Tyson starts, a mischievous grin rising onto his face. “Maybe a distraction is what you need right about now. You’ve got almost a month until you gotta decide, so… I think it’d be best for the three of us to hang around with each other as much as possible, you know? That way you can get a better feel of us while having some fun.”

“You realize that sounded totally wrong, right?” Gabe laughs, his cheeks suddenly a bit red. Nate snorts alongside him.

“Oh shut up, that’s not what I meant,” Tyson replies, waving a hand at him. “Okay, what I’m trying to say is that to distract yourself from the whole… thing… you gotta bring yourself closer to it. In this case, you can do that by hanging out with me and Gabe and maybe some of your friends a lot so that by the time you have to choose, you’re more swayed towards one of us. Boom.” He makes an explosion motion with his hands as he finishes, and Nate can’t help but find it hopelessly adorable.

“You know, I didn’t think there was anything in that head of yours, but… you proved me wrong,” Gabe said to Tyson, trying to get a rise out of him.

Tyson rolls his eyes and looks back to Nate. “I’m serious though. And before you say anything, no, I’m not trying to come up with an excuse to go with you to that one ice cream place with the chocolate flavored waffle cones again.”

Nate pauses to think about the whole thing, and… the thing is, he’s right. Maybe being around both of them at the same time will help Nate to compare them and see who he feels is better marriage material.

“Alright, let’s hurry and finish our breakfast. I’ve got some plans for us today.” Nate says, shoving a big piece of pancake into his mouth. 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Being around them together has… the opposite effect of what Nate had hoped for.

He ends up taking them out to the mall, browsing the stores like a couple of teenagers, and they all end up critiquing each other’s fashion sense (but in reality, it’s mostly Gabe and Nate bashing Tyson for only ever wanting to wear polos that make his pecs look big). They try on clothes just about everywhere they go without really buying anything, and it’s nice. Of course everyone’s eyes widen as soon as they see the prince walk in, but Nate could care less. He’s having fun with two guys that he was falling in love with, and he couldn’t wish for anything better. 

Afterwards, they sit in the food court eating blizzards from DQ, since Tyson insisted he was going through cookie dough withdrawals. Gabe ends up getting the cheese cake one, and Nate decides to try the cotton candy flavor, which ends up being way too sweet for his taste. Though, Gabe and Tyson don’t mind it one bit when Nate steals a few spoonfuls from their cups.

It’s then when he realizes that he’s completely gone for the both of them.

They’re so incredibly handsome and charming in their own unique ways, and Nate’s heart basically pounds out of his chest at the way that they both look at him, with so much care and passion in their eyes, and just… It’s so much to take in. But Nate welcomes every second of it.

And, he doesn’t miss how Gabe and Tyson look at each other the exact same way.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Thinking on it, Nate realizes that he should have seen it sooner.

The way that Gabe and Tyson playfully chirp each other, how they always seem to find an excuse to be touching Nate or each other at all times, and the constant comments about each other’s looks. It was all right in front of Nate, but… did the other two realize how they feel about each other?

Nate decides to perform a little experiment. It’s a very stupid experiment, but either way, it’ll work.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“A beach party? Come on, that’s so unfair! I sunburn easily!”

“Tyson, I’m more pale than you are. You’ll be fine. We have sunscreen, you know.” Nate says, tossing him a bottle of spf 100.

“Whatever,” Tyson says as he slathers some of the sunscreen on his arms. “I’m gonna end up looking like a lobster. You and Gabe will probably look all chiseled and sexy. It’s unfair.”

“If it’s any help, Tys,” Gabe adds from where he’s putting on suntan lotion. “I think you’d make a cute lobster.”

Nate laughs in agreement.

Everything is already going to plan.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Tyson does not, in fact, get sunburnt at the beach party. Though, he does end up taking a volleyball to the face, breaking his sunglasses and leaving him in a bit of pain.

Gabe almost immediately flies to his side, checking to see if he’s hurt. Nate watches as Tyson rubs his jaw and looks up at Gabe, lashes fluttering as his cheeks redden. Nate would recognize that look anywhere.

Later, they all decide to get into the water, and Nate can’t help but stare at the way the water rolls down Gabe’s and Tyson’s abs. It’s mesmerizing, and Nate can’t help it. He ends up getting caught by the both of them, and Gabe winks while Tyson asks if he likes the view. Nate shrugs and admits to it, not missing the way that the two of them glance over at each other and back to Nate, hints of lust in their eyes.

So, that’s definitely a thing.

 

~~~~~~

 

Nate decides to go for it.

Polyamory is a thing. Sure, it’s probably  _ super  _ looked down upon as royalty, but at this point, Nate could care less. He’s into Tyson and Gabe, they’re into each other and  Nate, and... It could work.

Well. Sort of.

The only thing he has to worry about is the whole marriage thing, but for now? He wants nothing more than to be with Tyson and Gabe. He can worry about all the official bullshit later.

It’s kind of unceremonious, the way he gets them together. They’ve finished eating dinner with the royal family when Nate pulls the two of them aside, saying that he needs to talk with them in his room. Of course, Tyson automatically waggles his eyebrows suggestively, but they both go along with him without complaint.

It takes everything in Nate not to chicken out and send them away. His throat feels tight, his palms are sweaty and he’s nervous as hell. But he knows that if he doesn’t do this now, he won’t do it at all, and he’d regret missing his chance with them.

He sits down on his bed and watches as Tyson and Gabe check out his enormous room, forgetting that neither of them had been in there until just then. 

Nate clears his throat and begins. “So, I’ve been thinking. About the three of us.” He looks down at his hands nervously. “I don’t want to choose between you guys. I  _ can’t.  _ I like you both too much, and just… the idea of only having one of you hurts.”

He chances a glance at them before going on. They both are leaning forward, listening intently. 

“And… I can’t help but notice the way you guys look at each other. You went from being jealous of each other to pining hardcore, and just… maybe it would be a good idea for us all to get together, you know?”

Nate doesn’t dare look up at them, to nervous to move. It takes a moment for either of them to break the silence, which causes Nate to internally combust a little, but Gabe finally speaks up.

“I think that’s a great idea, Nate. I’d love to date you and Tyson.”

Nate looks up to find Gabe smiling at him. His heart practically skips a beat.

“I agree. Honestly, I’m glad you asked. It’s- yeah. It’d be pretty cool,” Tyson says, his cheeks turning red as he smiles at them both.

Suddenly, Gabe sits next to Nate on his bed, resting a hand on Nate’s chin. The touch feels electric.

“I really wanna kiss you right now,” Gabe says, gazing into Nate’s blue eyes.

Paralyzed, Nate barely stutters out a “yes” before Gabe’s lips are on his own. Gabe kisses like he does everything, with a professional air, like he’s trying to impress everyone around him. It definitely works on Nate, and out of the corner of his eye, Nate can see that it’s worked on Tyson too, as he practically drools at the sight of them kissing.

They break apart, a bit breathless, and Nate turns to Tyson, beckoning him over. Tyson scrambles over to the bed like his life depends on it, and almost instantly, Nate pulls him forward and crashes their lips together. It’s a bit sloppy in comparison to his kiss with Gabe, but Nate wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s fitting, really.

Gabe suddenly makes a choked up noise, causing them to pull away and look over at him curiously.

“Sorry,” he says from next to Nate, clearing his throat. “Just. That was kind of really hot.”

“Now you know how I felt,” Tyson says, rolling his eyes. “By the way, it’s my turn.”

Nate leans out of the way, but stays pressed up against Tyson as the two lords kiss each other. Nate suddenly feels overcome with love for the two men in front of him, and he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face.

After a moment, Tyson turns away from Gabe and slings an arm around Nate’s waist. 

“So, now what?” he asks, voice soft.

Nate sighs. That question is… a little too hard to answer.

“Well… In a few weeks I’m going to have to sit down with my parents and have a really scary conversation with them. One of you guys might be forced to leave. Who knows. But for now… I just want to be with you both.” He reaches out and takes both of their hands. “Let’s go on cheesy dates and cuddle a lot. As my suitors, I expect to be thoroughly wooed by the end of the month.”

Tyson nods in agreement, his usual bright grin on his face, and Gabe squeezes Nate’s hand.

“Consider it done,” he says, voice low.

Looking at Tyson and Gabe, seeing the love in their eyes, Nate knows for a fact that he’ll make the right choice.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


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